Unit Aim or Outcome:In this unit students are learning the written and visual grammar of an exposition as well the grammatical features of a multimodal text within a HSIE unit on change and continuity in their local area. They will be drawing in this information to create a multimodal text that provides information on and an argument for a chosen devlelopment proposal of a local piece of land.
CCS2.2- Explains change in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on the different individuals, groups and environments.
Lesson Outcomes: TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social
situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations. WS2.9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well-structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features.
WS2.13 Discusses how own texts are adjusted to relate to different readers, how they develop
he subject matter and how they serve a wide variety of purposes.
Prior Knowledge:
-Students have previously completed a lesson on writing expositions.
-Students have discussed community and different cultural values in the context of the book "My Place" by Nadia Wheatley.
Students at the end of this lesson should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding that different groups, including families, may have different points of view about change in the community. - Create an exposition in the form of a "letter to the editor".
Resources: - "McProtest begins" article or similar article discussing a local development issue [Resource 3 ] - Letter to the Editor Template (one for each student) [Additional Resources ]
- Whiteboard and markers
- Scrap paper for brainstorming - Workbooks - Pens
Lesson Outline
Introductory Activity:
- Display the article "McProtest begins (using a projector) so that the whole class can see it.
- List a range of questions that pertain to the article on the board and lead a discussion based on these questions.
Questions might include:
What is the issue presented in the article?
Who is the intended audience?
What "voices" or points of view are represented in the article?
What are some of the words and language features used in the article to express a point of view and inform argument e.g. high modality verbs such as "fears" and "ruins".
What kinds of "evidence" does the journalist/author use to support the arguments raised in the article?
- Further discuss who else might be effected by this development.
- Split the class into small groups and assign each group a "voice" or point of view in regards to the proposed development. These groups might include:
Parents
Children
The developers
Local businesses
Local residents
The Indigenous Community
- Allow 10m for each group to come up with an argument (outline on scrap paper) as to why the development should/shouldn't go ahead from their groups point of view.
-Students nominate a representative to present their group argument and take turns in putting forward their "point of view".
Teaching strategy/Learning Activity:
Students will …
Teacher will…
- Take on a position or "point of view" in relation to the article (students may write from their own point of view or someone else's e.g. the developer).
- Examine the "letter to the editor template".
- Discuss what sort of text type a "letter to the editor" might be.
- Further discuss elements of an exposition.
- Reflect on previous activity and use what they learnt to inform current discussion.
- Brainstorm and inform discussion on the key grammatical features of an exposition.
- Write a "letter to the editor" taking on a point of view in relation to the article.
- Use the template as a model for their letter.
- Include all the "key" grammatical features of an exposition in their letter.
- Edit their own work using the class editing steps.
- Proof read and edit their peers work using the class editing steps.
- Explain that students must now write "letter to the editor", arguing their point of view in response to the article.
- Hand out "letter to the editor template".
- Initiate text type discussion.
- Link elements of exposition to previous activity through questioning and model the structure of an exposition e.g.
Can someone come up with a "statement of position" from the Parents point of view?
- Review the key grammatical features of an exposition on the board: ✒Nominalisation (e.g. development)
✒Abstract nouns (e.g. issue, concern, attention)
✒Technical nouns (e.g. Council, Developers)
✒Modal Words (e.g. must, complete lack)
✒Sensing verbs (e.g fear, believe) ✒Text Connectives (e.g. Firstly, Secondly)
✒Evaluative Language (e.g. value, important)
- Monitor and assist students when necessary
Conclusion (Bringing it all together): Have students write out a final copy of their letters and bind together in a book.
Discuss an appropriate title for their "letter" book e.g. "Taking a point of View"
Run a competition for the cover design of the book.
Assessment: Formative
- Observation
- Collection of work samples
Summative
- Rich multi-modal task
Any special considerations or contingency plans:
- Groups should be mixed ability and formed will a sound knowledge of their needs.
- Instructions for activities would be written on the board to accompany the oral explanation of the activities.
- A template is also provided for the exposition writing activity.
- Learning experiences are scaffolded building on prior knowledge and working towards something that may be a little more challenging.
Self-reflection (anticipated self-questioning)
- Were all students engaged in the tasks? - Did the tasks cater for the needs of the students? - Did the lesson achieve the intended outcomes? - What aspects were success/unsuccessful? Why? - How could the lesson be improved?
Lesson 3 - Written Grammar
CCS2.2- Explains change in the community and family life and evaluates the effects of these on the different individuals, groups and environments.
TS2.1 Communicates in informal and formal classroom activities in school and social
situations for an increasing range of purposes on a variety of topics across the curriculum.
TS2.2 Interacts effectively in groups and pairs, adopting a range of roles, uses a variety of media and uses various listening strategies for different situations.
WS2.9 Drafts, revises, proofreads and publishes well-structured texts that are more demanding in terms of topic, audience and written language features.
WS2.13 Discusses how own texts are adjusted to relate to different readers, how they develop
he subject matter and how they serve a wide variety of purposes.
-Students have previously completed a lesson on writing expositions.
-Students have discussed community and different cultural values in the context of the book "My Place" by Nadia Wheatley.
- Demonstrate an understanding that different groups, including families, may have different points of view about change in the community.
- Create an exposition in the form of a "letter to the editor".
- "McProtest begins" article or similar article discussing a local development issue [Resource 3 ]
- Letter to the Editor Template (one for each student) [Additional Resources ]
- Whiteboard and markers
- Scrap paper for brainstorming
- Workbooks
- Pens
- Display the article "McProtest begins (using a projector) so that the whole class can see it.
- List a range of questions that pertain to the article on the board and lead a discussion based on these questions.
Questions might include:
What is the issue presented in the article?
Who is the intended audience?
What "voices" or points of view are represented in the article?
What are some of the words and language features used in the article to express a point of view and inform argument e.g. high modality verbs such as "fears" and "ruins".
What kinds of "evidence" does the journalist/author use to support the arguments raised in the article?
- Further discuss who else might be effected by this development.
- Split the class into small groups and assign each group a "voice" or point of view in regards to the proposed development. These groups might include:
Parents
Children
The developers
Local businesses
Local residents
The Indigenous Community
- Allow 10m for each group to come up with an argument (outline on scrap paper) as to why the development should/shouldn't go ahead from their groups point of view.
-Students nominate a representative to present their group argument and take turns in putting forward their "point of view".
Students will …
Teacher will…
- Examine the "letter to the editor template".
- Discuss what sort of text type a "letter to the editor" might be.
- Further discuss elements of an exposition.
- Reflect on previous activity and use what they learnt to inform current discussion.
- Brainstorm and inform discussion on the key grammatical features of an exposition.
- Write a "letter to the editor" taking on a point of view in relation to the article.
- Use the template as a model for their letter.
- Include all the "key" grammatical features of an exposition in their letter.
- Edit their own work using the class editing steps.
- Proof read and edit their peers work using the class editing steps.
- Hand out "letter to the editor template".
- Initiate text type discussion.
- Link elements of exposition to previous activity through questioning and model the structure of an exposition e.g.
Can someone come up with a "statement of position" from the Parents point of view?
- Review the key grammatical features of an exposition on the board:
✒Nominalisation (e.g. development)
✒Abstract nouns (e.g. issue, concern, attention)
✒Technical nouns (e.g. Council, Developers)
✒Modal Words (e.g. must, complete lack)
✒Sensing verbs (e.g fear, believe)
✒Text Connectives (e.g. Firstly, Secondly)
✒Evaluative Language (e.g. value, important)
- Monitor and assist students when necessary
Have students write out a final copy of their letters and bind together in a book.
Discuss an appropriate title for their "letter" book e.g. "Taking a point of View"
Run a competition for the cover design of the book.
Formative
- Observation
- Collection of work samples
Summative
- Rich multi-modal task
- Groups should be mixed ability and formed will a sound knowledge of their needs.
- Instructions for activities would be written on the board to accompany the oral explanation of the activities.
- A template is also provided for the exposition writing activity.
- Learning experiences are scaffolded building on prior knowledge and working towards something that may be a little more challenging.
- Were all students engaged in the tasks?
- Did the tasks cater for the needs of the students?
- Did the lesson achieve the intended outcomes?
- What aspects were success/unsuccessful? Why?
- How could the lesson be improved?